1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coaxially shielded cables which are suitable for high fidelity electrical signal transmission, and a method of making same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coaxially shielded cables are well known as the highest fidelity signal wiring for digital signals and analog signals through the microwave range. Their usefulness has been limited by cumbersome and time consuming termination methods. The need for coaxial cables which can be efficiently terminated has been recognized and addressed by previous inventions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,552 discloses a specific cable design with multiple coaxially shielded conductors in a flat cable which permits mass termination. That invention requires individual termination of a shield or ground wire for each signal wire, which requirement limits cable and connector density through imposition of a mechanical requirement which is often not an electrical requirement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,759 discloses a flat multiconductor coaxial cable assembly having a single ground wire for every pair of coaxial cable elements permitting somewhat higher signal carrying densities (i.e., number of signal conductors per unit transverse width).
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flat cable with multiple coaxially shielded conductors wherein the shields are grounded by a single or a relatively small number of ground wires compared to the number of signal wires. Higher signal carrying densities in cable and connector are thus achieved.